The request for additional armaments to be sent to Ukraine by President Volodymyr Zelensky has received more responses.
Following a meeting on Thursday at the Tapa Army Base in Estonia, a number of European countries pledged fresh military aid packages.
As Ukraine tries to stave off the Russian army, the UK announced it would donate an additional 600 Brimstone missiles to that country.
The declaration precedes a crucial conference with 50 countries on Friday to coordinate the supply of armaments.
On Thursday, representatives from 11 countries gathered close to Tallinn to explore a number of fresh initiatives to aid Ukraine in regaining lost ground and thwarting any additional Russian advances.
The UK, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Czech Republic, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Slovakia were among the nine nations that pledged to provide greater assistance.
The following packages were revealed in a joint statement:
Brimstone missiles: 600 in the UK
Denmark: 19 self-propelled howitzers built in France called Caesar
Estonia possesses anti-tank grenade launchers, support vehicles, howitzers, and ammunition.
Stinger air defense systems, two helicopters, and drones are deployed in Latvia.
Lithuania: two helicopters and anti-aircraft weapons
S-60 anti-aircraft weapons with 70,000 rounds are in Poland.
Czech Republic: Continue to manufacture howitzers, APCs, and heavy calibre ammunition
On Friday, the Netherlands will present its assistance plan.
“In 2023, it is time to turn the momentum that the Ukrainians have earned in driving back Russia into gains and… force them back out of Ukraine and to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty, which is their right under international law,” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said during his visit to Estonia.
Ben Wallace, the British Secretary of State for Defense, addresses the media alongside the Baltic defense ministers at Tapa Army Base in Estonia.
SOURCE OF IMAGE: REUTERS
picture caption
Ben Wallace and his Estonian counterparts
The Ukraine Defence Group, a group of important allies led by the US, will meet on Friday to discuss escalating military assistance at the Ramstein air base in Germany.
President Zelensky stated that he anticipated “strong decisions” regarding additional arms shipments, including a “big military support package” from the US, to be made at that meeting.
The discussion will probably center on whether to send heavy tanks and, more importantly, who will supply them. This question is still unresolved despite the Western allies’ Thursday pledges of billions of dollars in new weapons.
Ukraine is requesting that Leopard tanks built in Germany be deployed to the front lines.
Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, is under increasing internal and international pressure to provide them or, at the very least, to sanction their delivery by third countries.
Poland and Finland have both committed to sending their Leopards, but they must first get Germany’s approval because it is the producing nation.
Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, expressed his “moderate pessimism” on Germany’s decision to allow the reexport of Leopards to Ukraine.
Additionally, President Zelensky addressed Germany’s resistance.
He stated on Thursday night that “we are now anticipating a decision from one European capital that will trigger the preset chains of cooperation on tanks.”
According to a government source in Berlin, no country has yet requested to re-export its tanks.
The UK was the first country to offer Ukraine tanks when it pledged to deliver 14 Challenger 2s from the British army.
